Vodafone to hand over pink slips to 'several hundred' employees: Report

Vodafone is planning to shed "several hundred jobs", most of which are located at its London headquarters, the Financial Times reported on Friday. It cited people who said this would be the company's biggest job cut in five years. 

 

This comes after Vodafone's November announcement of cost-saving measures worth $1.08 billion by 2026 in the wake of a deteriorating market outlook. Telcos across several countries, like Telefonica in Spain and Orange in France, have seen their valuations cut by almost 50 per cent. 

 

The businesses have also come under immense pressure from rising energy costs and high-interest rates. 

 

Vodafone employs 104,000 people globally. However, it could not be verified how much impact the job cuts will have on India, where the company operates with Idea under the brand name Vi. 

 

The company's chief executive officer Nick Read stepped down at the end of 2022. During his tenure, the company saw a 40 per cent fall in value. He stepped down as the board expressed its unhappiness with the progress under him.

 

Earlier this week, Vodafone also agreed to sell its business in Hungary to local IT company 4iG and the Hungarian state for $1.82 billion in cash. This deal was first announced in August last year.

 

"We are reviewing our operating model, focusing on streamlining and simplifying the group. We will say more about the changes when we announce our third-quarter results on February 1," the company had said in November. 

 

Vodafone on Thursday also announced a shake-up in its executive committee. The current CEO of Vodafone Italy, Aldo Bisio, has been assigned the additional role of the chief commercial officer.